Planting method and apparatus



l 9 D. M. WILLIAMS 3,467,278

PLANTING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed June 22, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1zzwaf/g sw/ymdmzk p 1969 D. M. WILLIAMS PLANTING METHOD AND APPARATUS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1966 United States Patent US. Cl. 222-1 11Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Seeds to be planted are gravity fedfrom a hopper to a substantially horizontal portion of an outlet tubing.At the appropriate time a blast of pressurized air ejects a measuredamount of seeds into a furrow. Simultaneously, a store of vermiculite isgravity fed into a horizontal compartment in which it is alsopneumatically ejected with the seeds to form a common mass in thefurrow. Subsequently, the vermiculite-seed mass is sprayed with liquidfertilizer and then sprayed with an asphalt stabilizer. A further aspectis the provision of a plurality of such apparatus disposed transverselyof the furrows with timed commutators provided planting locations ofadjacent furrows in a staggered arrangement.

This invention relates to the field of agriculture, and moreparticularly to the art of planting crops.

The present invention will have many applications other than thosedisclosed herein. The invention should therefore not be limited to thoseso disclosed. However, the invention has been found to possessexceptional utility in the planting of a food crop and especially headlettuce, broccoli and the like.

In the past, it has been the practice to plant head lettuce seed inclosely spaced relation all along a furrow in the earth. In such a case,it is also conventional to cover the seed with vermiculite to aerate, tofacilitate germination and to prevent crust formation of the ground overa planted seed after a rain. This is disclosed in US. Patent No.2,909,869.

The prior art method of planting is disadvantageous for several reasons.Seed is planted very close together in order to insure a full stand.However, this is expensive because both seed and vermiculite areexpensive and an excessive use of either one is wasteful. Further, aftera stand is established, the crop must be thinned out.

It is also a disadvantage of the prior art method that, in most cases,the thinning of the crop must be done by hand labor and this is bothcostly and time consuming.

If head lettuce were planted by hand, appropriate accurate spacing ofheads could be maintained if some care were used in planting. However,it is not economical to plant by hand. That is, head lettuce must bemachine planted. Further, if sufficient accuracy could be maintained inmachine planting, any thinning could also be done by machine. Thinningis generally a necessity even if the best planting methods are used. Thereason for thinning is that more than enough seed must be planted toinsure a full stand. However, when several seeds are planted in onelocation, more than one plant frequently comes up.

Machine planting is difficult because a crosswind can blow seed offcourse as it is falling out of the machine onto the ground. Wind alsooften blows both seed and vermiculite completely outside of the furrow.

In order to overcome the wind problem in spreading other materials overthe ground, it has been the practice to coat the materials with astabilizer which is an asphalt emulsion in water. This is disclosed inUS. Patent No. 2,844,914. However, such materials are blown through afog or mist or the like. It is not possible to accurately ice controlthe direction in which these materials are blown because they aresticky.

There are also other disadvantages of planting machines of the priorart. For those which utilize seed dispensers including mechanicalmetering devices and moving parts near the ground, abrasion and wearbecome problems. Dirt also can cause maintenance problems.

In accordance with the present invention, the abovedescribed and otherdisadvantages of the prior art are overcome by providing a machine whichis operated to plant a few seeds at accurately spaced locations in afurrow.

It is also a feature of the present invention that vermiculite or otherbulky organic or inorganic material may be dispensed in individualquantities over the seeds. Due to the periodic method and the accuratespacings which are maintained between seed locations, it is possible, inaccordance with the present invention, to save considerable seed andvermiculite. For example, from two to five head lettuce seeds may beplanted at one location. In a furrow, the seed locations may be spaced12 inches apart.

Due to the fact that several seeds are planted at one location inaccordance with the present invention, it is still possible for morethan one head to grow in the same location. For this reason, the cropmust be thinned.

It is a feature of the present invention that the machine thereof isaccurately timed or synchronized to deposit one material on top ofanother. Thus, one machine may be employed to accomplish severalfunctions. For example, in succession, seed may be deposited;vermiculite may be deposited on top of the seed; a liquid fertilizer maybe deposited on top of the vermiculite; and a liquid stabilizer may bedeposited on top of the fertilizer. All these steps may also beperformed in succession and not simultaneously. However, it has beenfound that with no apparent disadvantage, the seed and vermiculite canbe dispensed simultaneously. Further, the use of a machine to accomplishall of these functions is unusually eflicient and accurate.

It is an outstanding feature of the present invention that a blast of agas under pressure is employed, namely, air, to deposit the seed andvermiculite. Seed is therefore located in positions which are accuratelyspaced. Due to the fact that the blast of air carries the seed andvermiculite at a velocity much greater than that of any ambient wind, nocrosswind can blow the seed off its course in falling out of the machineinto a furrow.

As stated previously, it is possible to employ a stabilizer for thevermiculite and seed. It is in fact an outstanding feature of thepresent invention that the stabilizer is sprayed on top of thefertilized seed which has been covered with vermiculite. Unlike theprior art method of coating a material with a stabilizer before it isdispensed, the method of the present invention employs a successive stepof depositing a stabilizer on the seed.

In accordance with another outstanding feature of the present invention,a vertical gravity feed is employed for seed and vermiculite dispensers.The only force needed, therefore, to operate these dispensers iscompressed air and a solenoid valve to allow the air to escape. Due tothis construction, the device of the present invention really has nomechanical metering device or moving parts near the ground. Abrasion andwear are therefore kept to a minimum. Further, dirt can cause no seriousproblem in the maintenance of the equipment because the moving parts inthe solenoid valve are in effect self-cleaning because the escape of thecompressed air keeps the solenoid valve clean.

The above-described and other advantages of the present invention willbe better understood from the following description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings which are to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a machine constructed in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of the machine shownin FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The machine of the present invention is indicated at in FIG. 1. Machine10 is carried on a chassis 11 which may be pulled as a trailer. A pairof disc openers 12 are mounted on chassis 11 for each seed dispenser.

. Chassis 11 is supported on a pair of wheels 13, one of which is shown.Chassis 11 may also be supported upon two wheels, not shown,symmetrically below a vermiculite hopper 14 and in longitudinalalignment with wheels 13. An additional pair of wheels 'may also beemployed at each end of hopper 14, if desired.

As shown in FIG. 1, wheel 13 has a sprocket 15 fixed thereto. A linkage16 extends from the axis of sprocket 15 to the axis of a second sprocket17. Similarly, a linkage 18 extends from the axis of sprocket 17 to theaxis of a third sprocket 19. Sprocket '17 is a double sprocket andreceives a chain 20 from around sprocket 15 and a chain 21 from aroundsprocket 19. Sprocket 19 is keyed to and drives a synchronizing shaft 22as will be explained.

Chain 21 and sprocket 19 with shaft 22 are shown in FIG. 3. Shaft 22rotates a pair of commutators 23 and 24.

The machine 10 of the present invention is employed to plant headlettuce seed in eight adjacent furrows synchronously and at one time.However, structure for planting more than two furrows are identical tothe other structures. For this reason, a structure for planting only twoadjacent furrows are disclosed in detail.

In particular, commutators 23 and 24 are employed to energize twodifferent sets of solenoid valves so as to plant seed in one furrow sixinches longitudinally spaced from seed planted in an adjacent furrow.For example, commutator 23 operates solenoid valve 25. Commutator 24operates solenoid valve 26.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, seed is retained in a seed hopper 27. Twosuch seed hoppers 27 and 28 are shown in FIG. 3. A few seed are droppeddown vertical gravity feed tubes 29 and 30 by two corresponding brushtype distributors 31 and 32 which are conventionally geared to shaft 22.Commutators 23 and 24 are also conventionally geared to shaft 22.Commutators 23 and 24 are connected from an electrical source ofpotential 23'.

As stated previously, a few head lettuce seed are deposited in locationslocated one foot apart in a furrow. Thus, in the travel of the machine10 one linear foot forward, ample opportunity is provided fordistributors 31 and 32 to drop a few head lettuce seed to horizontalsurfaces 33 and 34 in tubes 35 and 36, respectively. Tube 35 has ahorizontal portion 37, a bend at 38, a downwardly and rearwardlyextending portion 39, and an opening 40. Tube 36 has portions 41, 42, 43and 44 identical to portions 38, 39 and 40, respectively, of tube 35.

When machine 10 arrives at a location in which seed should be planted,solenoid valve 26 is normally closed However, in that position,commutator 24 energizes solenoid valve 26 and allows a blast of air tobe expelled through tube 35. This blows the seed from surface 33 out ofopening into a furrow. The air is supplied by a compressor 45 which isconnected to a tank 46 at 47. Tank 46 is in turn connected to valves 25and 26 through a pipe 48.

Vermiculite is dispensed at the same time that seed is dispensed. Adispenser 49 is provided for the vermiculite. However, no means areprovided to meter the vermiculite into dispenser 49 if distributors 31and 32 are provided for the seed. On the contrary, vermiculite hopper 14is simply filled to the top and, before it is expelled, occupies thespace below'the lower end of hopper 14 as indicated at 50 and 51.Alternatively, individual vermiculite hoppers may be provided asindicated at 52 for vermiculite dispenser 53.

When valve 26 is energized, a blast of air is likewise introduced intothe dispenser 49. This blows a metered quantity of vermiculite against adeflector 54 and down on the ground covering the seed dispensed fromtube 35.

Seed and vermiculite are dispensed in an identical manner through theuse of valve 25, except that commutator 23 operates valve 25 at timesmidway between the operation of soleniod valve 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, liquid fertilizer is dispensed from a tank 55. Apiston type positive displacement pump 57 draws the fertilizer from tank55 through a check valve 58. At the same time, check valves 59 and 60 atnozzles 61 and 62 close. Pump 57 then fills. The fertilizer in pump 57is forced through check valves 59 and 60 and through nozzles 61 and 62.

Note will be taken that on the chassis 11 of the machine 10, tubes 35and 36 are not in longitudinal alignment. They are in transversealignment. The same is true of dispensers 49 and 53-.

Similarly, none of the nozzles 61 is in longitudinal alignment withnozzles 62. The reason for this will be apparent hereinafter.

A stabilizer which is an asphalt emulsion in water is dispensed from atank 63 through check valves 64, 65, and 66, and nozzles 67 and 68. Apositive displacement pump 69 identical to pump 57 is employed for thispurpose. Pumps 57 and 69 are conventional.

As before, nozzles 67 are not in longitudinal alignment with nozzle 68.Nozzles 67 are employed for one set of furrows. Nozzles 68 are employedfor furrows alternate to those for which nozzles 67 are employed.Similarly nozzles 62 are employed for furrows which are alternate forthose which nozzles 61 are employed. The forward and rear spacing ofnozzles 61 and 62 and nozzles 67 and 68 are employed to dispensefertilizer and stabilizer on the same spots in adjacent rows. However,since seed is planted in one furrow midway between where it is plantedin an adjacent furrow, and due to the fact that pump 57 dispensesfertilizer from both nozzles 61 and 62 at the same time nozzles 61 and62 must be spaced longitudinally apart. The same is true of nozzles 67and 68.

As shown in FIG. 1, nozzles 61 and 62 are fed by a header 70. Nozzles 67and 68 are fed by a header 71.

As stated previously, the use of a stabilizer is made to prevent seedand vermiculite from blowing away. Both seed and vermiculite may, infact, be blown completely out of a furrow in which they are dispensedsimply by ambient wind.

In general, the stabilizer should dry to a light cake which can act as abinder to the seed and vermiculite particles. However, the binder cakeshould not be so firm that it will not eventually break up. None ofthese stabilizer requirements are critical, and any conventional mulch,such as asphalt or any caking or other binder, may be employed for thestabilizer of the present invention.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the method of thepresent invention including the steps of planting a few head lettuceseeds in accurately spaced locations, is unusually advantageous forseveral reasons. In the first place, only a few seeds are planted inspaced locations. This saves both seed and vermiculite. Further, anyplace Where more than one head of lettuce grows can be trimmed from thecrop. In particular, the crop may be thinned with a minimum amount ofhand labor which is a saving both in expense and time. Because of theregular intervals of planting, and the high percentage of plantsseparate from others, the labor-requirements for hand thinning isgreatly reduced.

In accordance with an outstanding feature of the present invention, afew head lettuce seed are planted accurately in spaced locations, andthe seed are planted by a machine. The accuracy of the planting and theentire mechanization of the operation makes it less expensive and makesit possible to plant at a reasonable rate of speed.

It is also an outstanding feature of the present invention thatcompressed air in tank 46 is employed to dispense seed from tubes 35 and36, and to expel vermiculite from dispensers 49 and 53. This accuratelyplaces the seed and in vermiculite in the furrow indicated at 72 in FIG.2, where they ought to be. An ambient crosswind therefore cannot blowthe seed and vermiculite off course as the seed and vermiculite fall orare blown out of tubes 35 and 36 and dispensers 49 and 53.

After the seeds 73, 74 and 75 have been deposited in furrow 72 andvermiculite 76, 77 and 78 has been deposited on top of seeds 73, 74 and75, liquid fertilizer at 79 is sprayed on top of the vermiculite andstabilizer 80 is sprayed on top of the fertilizer 79. Stabilizer 80therefore keeps the vermiculite and seed from being blown out of furrow72.

Further, by applying stabilizer 80 to the fertilized seed andvermiculite, both seed and vermiculite may be moved out of tubes 35 and36 and leave dispensers 49 and 53 dry. Thus, they may be moved quicklyand accurately by the use of compressed air to their particularlocations. In this regard, it is somewhat striking that the same valve26 may be employed to use air both to expel seed and vermiculite andthat the seed will become effectively buried in or buried beneath thevermiculite even though both are dispensed approximately at the sametime in accordance with the present invention.

Due to the fact that no mechanical metering devices are used near theground, and that there are no considerable moving parts near the ground,abrasion and wear do not become problems. Further, dirt is not amaintenance problem. One of the reasons for this is that valve 26, bycontrolling compressed air, in effect is self-cleanmg.

Although only one specific embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed and illustrated herein, many changes and modifications will ofcourse suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. This singleembodiment has been selected for this disclosure for the purpose ofillustration only. The present invention should therefore not be limitedto the embodiment so selected, the true scope of the invention beingdefined only in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine movable over the ground on wheels for planting seeds, amechanism for moving material from within the machine out onto theground, said mechanism comprising: a hollow, inverted T-shaped dispenserhaving a vertical leg and a horizontal arm; means to drop a measuredquantity of material through said leg onto the internal surface of saidarm, said arm being open at one end; and automatically operable meansoperatively associated with said dispenser for introducing a pulselikeblast of a. gas under pressure into the other end of said arm to expelsaid material as a unitary mass from said arm through said one end andto deposit it on the ground.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said dispenser has adeflector fixed to the top of the open end of said arm in a position toextend outwardly and downwardly therefrom.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said one end of said armis tube shaped and extends outwardly and downwardly toward the ground.

4. In a machine movable over the ground on wheels for planting seeds, amechanism for moving a measured amount of material from within themachine out onto the ground, said mechanism comprising: a hopper for thematerial; a hollow, inverted T-shaped dispenser having a vertical legand a horizontal arm; a vertical tube-like member connecting the bottomof said hopper to the top of said leg, said arm being open at one end;and automatically operable means operatively associated with saiddispenser for introducing a pulselike blast of a gas under pressure intothe other end of said arm to expel the measured quantity of saidmaterial from said arm in a substantially unitary mass through said oneend and to deposit it on the ground.

5. Planting apparatus comprising: a machine having a chassis and a setof wheels thereon; a seed dispenser on said chassis; means on saidchassis operable synchronously with rotation of said wheels forintermittently expelling a quantity of seed from said seed dispenser ata selected position; a vermiculite dispenser on said chassis; means onsaid chassis operable synchronously with rotation of said wheels forintermittently expelling a quantity of vermiculite from said vermiculitedispenser substantially at said selected position; a liquid fertilizerdispenser having a downwardly directed nozzle on said machine spaced afirst distance rearward of said predetermined position in longitudinalalignment with said seed and vermiculite dispensers; means on saidchassis operable synchronously with rotation of said wheels forintermittently expellinga quantity of said fertilizer from said firstnozzle, said first distance having a correlation to said synchronizationsuch that said first nozzle is vertically aligned with a quantity ofdispensed seed and vermiculite each time said fertilizer is dispensed;an asphalt stabilizer dispenser having a downwardly directed secondnozzle on said machine spaced a second distance rearward of said firstnozzle in longitudinal alignment with said seed, vermiculite and liquidfertilizer dispensers; and means on said chassis operable synchronouslywith rotation of said wheels for intermittently expelling a quantity ofsaid stabilizer from said second nozzle, said second distance having acorrelation to said synchronization such that said second nozzle isvertically aligned with a quantity of dispensed and fertilized seed andvermiculite each time said stabilizer is dispensed.

6. A planting machine comprising: a chassis; a set of wheels to supportsaid chassis on the ground; a material dispenser on said chassis, saiddispenser including a material storage chamber and a material dischargechamber communicating with said storage chamber and being adapted toreceive material therefrom; a tank of compressed air on said chassis; aconnection fixed between said tank and said material discharge chamber;a valve in said connection; a solenoid winding fixed to said valve toopen said valve when energized; an electrical source of potential; andswitch means actuable synchronously with rotation of said wheels toenergize said winding intermittently with said source of potential.

7. The method of moving a granular material out of a machine onto theground, said method comprising the steps of: automatically andintermittently dropping a specific discrete quantity of material ontothe internal surface of a horizontal tube-like body open and downwardlyextending at one end; and automatically and intermittently injecting apulse of gas under pressure into the other end of said body to blow saidquantity of material out onto the ground.

8. The method of moving a granular material out of a machine onto theground, said method comprising the steps of: filling a vertical gravityfeed line with a granular material, said feed line terminating at itslower end in a horizontal tube-like body open at one end, said open endhaving a downwardly directed deflector whereby gravity fed granularmaterial stores into the horizontal body in a measured amount; andautomatically and intermittently injecting a gas pulse under pressureinto the otherend of said body to blow a metered quantity of saidmaterial out onto the ground.

9. The method of moving a granular material out of a machine onto theground, said method comprising the steps of: metering out a quantity ofseed; dropping said metered quantity of seed down through a verticalgravity feed line onto the internal surface of a horizontal por- 7 tionof a tube-like body, said body having a bend at one end and a downwardlyextending portion open at its lower end; and automatically andintermittently pulsing air under pressure into the other end of saidbody to blow said metered quantity of seed out onto the ground.

10. In a machine movable over the ground on wheels for planting seeds, amechanism for moving material from within the machine out onto theground, said mechanism comprising: a hollow, inverted T-shaped dispenserhaving a vertical leg and a horizontal arm; means 10 and to deposit iton the ground; said exhaust means in- 1 cluding an air compressor, anair storage tank, a solenoid valve connected from said tank to introduceair into said other end of said dispenser arm, and means responsive torotation of said wheels for opening said valve momentarily. t

11. In a planting machine including a chassis and wheels connectedthereto for moving the chassis over the ground, the combinationcomprising: a pair of material dispensers longitudinally andtransversely spaced from one another, and common pump meanscommunicating with each of said dispensers and operatively connected tosaid machine wheels for intermittently and substantially simultaneouslydispensing material in adjacent rows at staggered positions as themachine moves along the ground.

' References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 886,979 5/1908 Holt 222-1932,682,132v 6/1954 Marihart 111-73 X 3,060,873 10/ 1962 Powers 111-733,343,507 9/ 1967 Smith 111-73 1,638,048 8/1927 Matheson 222-1942,538,756 1/ 1951 Braswell 222-193 3,082,007 3/ 1963 Johnson 222-193 X3,129,852 4/1964 Mower 222-193 X 2,770,912 11/1956 Deern 222-1933,133,676 5/1964 Haun 222-194 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner H S.LANE, Assistant Examiner Us. or. X.R.

